I woke up Wednesday morning not really knowing what the next couple of days would have in store for me.

We have an LA-based dance group called Diavolo in town for a performance this Friday, March 19. We added an education component to the booking, which means the group came in a couple of days early to visit some Columbus area schools and conduct Master Class activities.

Diavolo is also conducting a special student matinee performance on Friday morning, so all the students who participated in the Master Classes, along with an additional 1,000 students, will get to see the group in action. So not only do these kids get to meet and work with the dancers in a Master Class, but they also get to see them live on stage at the Palace Theatre.

Many, many hours go into putting something like this together, yet no matter how detailed the plan, there are still those nail-biter moments when you fear it won’t all come together. We had delayed flights and other flights which were almost missed. I woke up in the middle of the night wondering if I had told the school principals that we needed a sound tie-in for an iPod and a 6’ ladder.

But I can honestly say that no matter how much time invested in calls, texts, and emails or the number of nails chewed down to the nub, when you see the joy on the faces of these students who don’t get too many opportunities to participate in something like this, it’s all worth it. I have been involved with well over 1,000 shows in my 19 years with CAPA, and I must say, this week has been one of the most fulfilling experiences in my career.

I’m really excited to see the buses pulling up to the Palace Theatre Friday morning and unloading 1,300 students. It will be the perfect ending to an extraordinary week.

Special thanks to Renee and the Diavolo dancers for making this such a great week for us! And as always, thanks to all of the school principals and teachers for such great cooperation and communication!

Until next time…

(Ed. Note: Click on the video below for a preview of Diavolo - appearing Friday, March 19, at the Palace Theatre!)

CAPA has received arts employment support from the Ohio Arts Council made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts through funds allocated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.